Reuters Sports News Summary
Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Struggling Sharapova splits with coach
Former world number one Maria Sharapova said on Friday she had split with her coach Sven Groeneveld, two days after losing a third consecutive match for the first time since 2003. The news comes after Sharapova, who said the decision to end their four-year partnership was "mutually agreed", was beaten by 44th-ranked Naomi Osaka in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open in California on Wednesday.
Serena, Venus win to set up third-round clash
Serena Williams continued her tennis comeback with a 7-6(5) 7-5 win over Kiki Bertens at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday, setting up a third-round encounter with her sister Venus. Serena, who is returning to the sport after taking more than a year away to have a baby, was ragged at times but used her power to wear down the Dutch 29th seed in Indian Wells, California.
Tennis: Verdasco upsets Dimitrov, Federer debut marred by rain
Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco used his powerful serve to upset third seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(4) 4-6 6-3 at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday while Roger Federer's tournament debut was hampered by rain. Verdasco's first serve proved nearly unplayable in the deciding set of the second round match as he improved his career head-to-head record against Dimitrov to 2-2.
U.S. skating coach suspended, to be investigated by sex-abuse group
A longtime U.S. figure skating coach who trained Tara Lipinski to an Olympic gold medal in 1998 has been suspended and will be investigated by an organization formed to prevent sexual abuse of athletes, the sport's governing body said on Friday. Richard Callaghan, 72, is barred from any figure skating activities sanctioned by the sports group or the U.S. Olympic Committee pending the outcome of an inquiry by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, an independent watchdog group, U.S Figure Skating said in a statement.
Woods within striking distance of first win since 2013
Tiger Woods moved within one stroke of leader Corey Conners at the Valspar Championship in Florida on Saturday as his comeback gathered more steam ahead of next month's U.S. Masters. In just his fourth official start since spinal fusion surgery last April, the 14-times major champion carded an assured four-under-par 67 in front of a huge gallery in the third round at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor.
Cycling: Yates takes Paris-Nice lead with stage win
Briton Simon Yates moved top of the overall standings in the Paris-Nice week long race by claiming the penultimate stage, a 175-km ride from Nice to Valdeblore La Colmiane on Saturday. The Mitchelton-Scott rider powered away in the final ascent, a 16.3-km stretch at an average gradient of 6.2 percent, and dropped all his rivals to beat Belgian Dylan Theuns and Spain's Jon Izagirre by eight seconds.
Alpine skiing: Dressen edges Feuz for second time this season
Germany's Thomas Dressen piped Switzerland's Beat Feuz to win the men's downhill at Kvitfjell on Saturday, just as he did at Kitzbuehel two months ago. Feuz, starting fifth, set the pace with a time of one minute 49.25 seconds but 24-year-old Dressen sneaked inside his time by eight hundredths of a second to claim the second World Cup win of his career.
Athletics: U.S. student Norman breaks world indoor 400m record
American Michael Norman broke the world indoor 400 meters record when he clocked 44.52 second at the U.S. collegiate championships in College Station, Texas on Saturday. The University of Southern California sprinter, running just his third indoor 400m final, took 0.05 seconds off the previous record of Kerron Clement at the 2005 U.S. collegiate championships.
Soccer: Rashford double gives United victory over Liverpool
Marcus Rashford struck twice as Manchester United won the 200th North West derby with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford on Saturday to open up a five point gap on their third-placed rivals. United survived a frantic final 10 minutes after a bizarre own goal from defender Eric Bailly had given Liverpool a route back into the game but Juergen Klopp’s attack, so effective through this season, were unable to carve any clear openings.
Alpine skiing: Shiffrin wins slalom World Cup title
American Mikaela Shiffrin added the World Cup slalom title to her overall crown when she topped the podium in Ofterschwang on Saturday to take an unassailable lead in the standings. Shiffrin bagged the 100 points when she edged out Switzerland's Wendy Holdener by nine hundredths of a second over the two runs. Swede Frida Hansdotter was third.
